Floor-surfacing machine.



J1 P. BILLS. FLOOR SURACING MACHINE.

J. P. BILLS. FLOOR SURFACING MACHINE: ,APPLICATION FILED 0012.29, umy

Patented sept. 29, 1914 Y mmz.

6 SHEETSSHEET 2.

F. BILLS. FLOOR SURPACNG MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED 0011.29, unsA Patented Sept. 29, 1914- 6 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

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29, IMIS` Patented sepa. 29. 19.1

G SHEETS SHEET 11 vanto@ l J. F. BILLS., FLOOR SURPACING MACHINE'. APPLICATION FILED CT. 29,'1913.

, l 12,253. Patented Sept. 29, 1914.

6 SHEETS-'SHEET 5.

C@ s@ a @m J. F. BILLS. FLOOR SURPAGING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED OCT. 29, y1913y PatentedSept. 29, 1914 G SHEETS-'SHEET 6.

y JOHN FRANCIS BILLS, F CASPER, WYOMING.

i FLOOR-SURFACING MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Eatent.y

Application filedv October 29, 1913. Serial No. 798,066.

To 'all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, J'OHN F BILLS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Casper, in the county of Natrona andy State of Wyoming, have invented new and useful Improvements in Floor-'Surfacing Machines,

of which the following is a Specification.

machines, the broad object of the invention being to produce a motor driven machine of the class referred to in the form of a wheeled truck, which is propelled along the floor by means of the motor and adapted to be steered by the operator, the 'ma-chine' embodying means for abrading and polishing the ioor and bringing the same to the neces- Sary degree of smoothness. A further object of the invention 1s to provide means for raising and lowering the main body of the truck so as to obtain the desired pressure of the surfacing rolls against the floor to obtain the b est results and to provide means for conducting off the dust to a suitable receptacle.- y

A further object of the invention is to provide means `whereby the machine may be reversed or made to travel either forwardly or backwardly as occasion may require.

A further object of the invention is to provide a machine the construction of which will' admit of the saine being driven close to the wall or washboard thereby enabling the entire surface of the iloor to be finished.

A. further object of the invention is to provide a surfacing roll the construction of which will admit of the ready application thereto and removal therefrom of sheets of sand paper or other abrading and polishing material while obtaining a thorough stretchin of said sheets around the roll.

Vith the above and other objects in view, the invention consists in the construction, combination and arrangement of parts, as will hereinafter be more fully described, illustrated and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings Figure 1is a plan view of the floor surfacing machine embodying the present invention. ,Fig Q'is a bottom plan view of the same. Fig. 3 ,is t -side elevation of the machine showing the mechanism for rotating the surfacing rolls'. Fig. 4 is a vertical longitudinal ysection through the machine. Fig.

"5 is a vertical cross section through the machine von the line 5-'-5 of 2. Fig. 6 is a Patented sept. e9, 1914. l` y vertical cross section through the machine f on the line 6-6 of Fig. 2. vertical longitudinal section showing part of the raising and lowering means. Fig. S is an elevation of one of the surfacing rolls, partly broken away iii section. Fig. 9 isa cross section` on the line 9-9 of Fig. 8 show# This invention relates to floor surfacinging the clamping jaws open. Fig. 10 is a similar view showing the clamping jaws closed and the surfacing sheet clamped in place around the roll. Fig. 11 is a detail perspective view of one end of the cam shaft of the surfacing roll. l

The ioor surfacing machine contemplated in this invention comprises a horizontal` platform l which constitutes a' portion of,

Fig. 7 is a detail the frame of the truck which is supported by traction wheels 2 and steering wheels 3" hereinafter more particularly referred to.v i* .75..

All of the mechanism' hereinafter described as contained below the platform 1 is housed in by the sides 4 andv front and rear ends 5 and G respectively which serve to conceal the said mechanism and prevent the dust from flying about in the room.

The machine is driven along the door, and the surfacing rolls and other parts ofthe mechanism are actuated by a motor 7 which is niouiited'about centrally of and upon the platform 1, an electric motor being shown and 8 designatingthe conductor wires by means of which the necessary current is transmitted to the motor.

9 vdesigmates the motor shaft which has fast thereon a bevel gear wheel 10 which meshes with and drives a bevel gear wheel 11 fast on the upper end of a vertical transmission Shaft 12. This shaft is journaled in a bearing 13 secured to the platform as sho-wn in Fig. i and has fast on its lower end another bevel gear wheel 1li. The wheel 14.

meshes with and drives another bevel gear l wheel 15 fast on a worin shaft 16 extending horizontally and transversely of the truck frame and having fast thereon a' worm 17 which meshes with and drives a worm gear 18 fast on the main drive shaft 19.

The drive shaft 1f) is mounted in bearings E20 and 2l under the platform 1 and has fast on its rear end a bevel gear wheel 22 which meshes with ,and drives a pair of opposed bevel gear wheels 23 and 24 one or the other of which is always ,loose en the driving axle 25said axle having the traction. wheels 2 above referred to fast'thereon.`

Mounted slidingly on the driving axle l is a clutch 2G having opposite clutch 31; "es as shown in F ig. .2 movable alterna .y into l and out of engagement with clutch taees 2 i and 28 on. the inner faces of the wheels Q3 and 24,'thus enabling either one of saidl wheels to be locked to the driving axle 25 l according to the direct-ion in which it is desired to propel the machine'. l

The clutch 2G is provided with a groove 29 to receive a clutch shifting fork 30 havi ing the. arms 3]. thereof extended sufliciently l to admit oi a cert-ain degree of up and down l movement of the driving axle 25 as indicated in F ig. 4 for the purpose of permitting the machine and the weight thereof to rest more or less on the surfacing rolls hereinafter described. The fork `30 extends upwardly above the driving axle 'and is pivotally mounted at its uppe, r Aeneath the platform as shown. at

. hefork 30 is operated by means of a hand operated clutch le ver 33 as shown in Fig 3, said lever being provided with a thumb latch 34 which en gages a stationary segmental rack 35 extending upward from the platform l. Connected to theclutch lever 33 is a connecting rod 36 which extends rearwardly and connects to one arm of a bell crank "lever 37 movable en a vin-tical axis. From the other arm of said bell crank lever 37 a connecting rod 22S extends to the clutch shifting fork 30 sothat by moving the hand lever 33, the clutch 26 may be shiled lengthwise. of the l driving axle so as to engage onel or the i other of the wheels Q3 or and lock the same to the driving axle, In this way the operator standing on the plat-'form l may quickly reverse tie driving mechanism and cause the machine to travel forward or back- Ward as may be necessary.

The steering wheels 3 are mounted in forks 39 having upwardly extending stems 40 which are journalcd in a bolster 4l as indicated in Fig. 4, the crowns 42 oi` thc forks bearing against the under side of the bolster 41. At their upper ends the fork stems 40 are provided with crank arms 43 coupled together by a yoke bar 44 causing both crank arms 43 to turn together. The yoke bar 44 is operated by means of a steering lever 45 Within reach of the operator, said lever heing fast on the upper end of a steering post 46 journaled in a suitable supporting frame. 47 extending upwardly from the platform 1. On the lower end of the post 46 is a crank arm 48 which is pivotally connected at 49 to the yoke bar 44. lt will now be seen that when the. operator moves the steering lever 45 to one side or the other, the steering lwheels 3 are correspondingly turned and in this way the direction of movement of the machine as a whole may be governed.

The driving axle 25 is journaled at its opposite ends in bearings 50 carried-by a pair of verticalbY adjustable hearing slides :71 of doveftailed shape. in cross section and movable in vertically extending guides having guide ways 53 of dove-tailed shape corrcsmrnding with the shape ot' the hearing slides 51 as shown Ain Fig. (i. ln like manner the opposite extremities oli the bolsier 'l-l'are carried by vertically movable bearing slides o-l movable in guide ways .35 on'thc sides ot' the truck.I the slides and and 55 correspondingin shape 1e 5l and 5:2 above described and as seen in Fig. 2.

in order to provide for the vertical adjustment of the bearing slides 5l and 54, each of .said slides is provided with ay rack' face 5C, and these rack faces are engaged by two sets oi' sectors 5T and .-35 shown as arranged respectively at the rear and frontof the machine. By reference to Fig. 7 it Will be seen that the fron't and rear sectors are provided with arms 59 and 60 which extend beyond the fulcruni poilus 61 of the sectors and hm e atadlwd thereto longitudinally extensible links 62 which are pivotally connected at llito the sector arms and pivotally connected at. their opposite ends as shown at (34 to a crank arm (35i on a raising and lowering shaft- 66 journaled in suitable bearings in the frame ol the truck and having fast thereon a raising and lowering hand lever 45T provided with a thumb latch GSengaging a stationary segmental rack |59 secured to and evtcnding upward from the platform l as shown in Fig. It will now be understood that by moving the hand lever 67 and llici'eby turning the shaft G6, the sectors 57 and 58 will be turned to raise or lower the traction wheels 1 and the steering wheels 3 for the purpose of taking some of the weight iroin the surfacing rolls hereinafter described or placing increased weight thereon as may be found necessary.

.t\.s shown in Figs. 4 and 'the links (i2 are extmisible relatively to the lower pivots 63. lili' rcnmvingsaid pivots 623, the lower endsY oil' the links may be disconnected from the levers 59 and 60. after which the jam nuts shown in, said Figs. 4 and 5 may be loosenedv and lhc clips at the lower extremities of the links (S9 may be turned on their threaded connection so as to increase or dimiuirh' the `length of the links, after which the lpivots 63 may, be reinserted. Thus either one of the links (32 may be increased or diminished in length for the purpose stated.

At. both the front and rear ends of the machine I locate the floor surfacing rolls, 70 designating the front roll and 7l the rear roll. One of said rolls is illustrated in def,

tail in Figs. 8 to 11 inclusive wherein it will be observed that each roll comprises oppositely located disk-shaped heads 7. connected by a. central shaft 72S whichis journaled in bearings 74 on the sides 4 of the irc housing, the disk-shaped heads 7 2 being recessed as shown at A7 5 to receive the bearings 741. A sheet metal cover fits at its opposite ends around the disk-shaped heads 72 and forms the cylindrical Wall of the roll. One of the longitudinal edges of the cover 76 is iixedly secured to a stationary clamping-jaw77 which is set into recesses 7 8 in .the heads 72 as shovfn in l*1 9 and 10.

Movable in the same recesses 78 is a mov able. clamping javv 79 shiftable toward and away from the lfixed clamping jaw 77 by means of a plurality of jaw carrying stems 80 which are' connected to a-corresponding number of clamping levers S1 pivotally mounted at 82 within the body of the roll. Each of the levers 81 is provided with a cam receiving slot S3 in which operates a cam projection 84C on a cam shaft S5 journaled in hearings 86 in theheads 72 and projecting at one end beyond one of the heads, the projecting extremity of the cam shaft being squared as at 87 to receive a suitable Wrench for the purpose of turning the cam shaft.

88 designates an abrading or polishing sheet which is Wrapped around the roll. By referring to Figs. 9 and 10 it Will now bc understood that a sheet of sand papervor sheet of fabric such as carpet may be applied around the cover 7 6 of the roll and the edges thereof inserted between the clamping jaws 77 and 79. This is done while the jaws are open or sp'read apart as shown in Fig. 9 and when the movable jaw is closed on the lined jaw, thc cover 7 6 which is attached at its free edge to the movable jap' 79, and the abrading or polishing sheet, are placed under tension, the abrading or polishing sheet being thus effectively stretched around the surfacing roll and securely clamped in place thereon. rl`his provides an easy and practical way of clamping sheets of abrading or polishing material on the surfacing rolls and removing the same quickly ltherefrom. lt will also be observed that the jaws 77 and 79 ex tend at an angle to the major axis of the roll so as to distribute the wear and tear on the meeting edges of the surfacing sheet 88.

The surfacing rolls are driven by the following means. T he shaft-s of thhe front and rear rolls are provided outside of one of the truck sides l with front and rear bevel gear;y wheels 90 and 91, respectively, engaged by other bevel gear Wheels 92 and 93 on the op-v posite ends of a pair of inclined roll dri ving shafts 94 and 95. At their adjacent ends these shafts are provided With bevel gear Wheels 96 and 97 which mesh with a com* mon driving bevel gear 98 fast on the worm shaft 1G. By reference to Fig. 2 it will be observed that the side of. the machine opposite with the side on which the gearing just described is mounted is left perfectly plain and unobstructed so that it may operate in close proximity to the Washboard in a room, thus adding to the practical value of the machine.

Referring now to Fig. 4 it will be observed that a dust hood 99 embraces each of the surfacing rolls 70 and 71 and is fixedly secured to the truck frame. Each of said I hoods is odset'to form a suction gutter 100 and from these gutters, suction pipes 101 and 102 lead upwardly through the platform 1 andconnect With the casing 103 of a suction fan, the said ,casing having its discharge spout 10i extending horizontally to enable a dust bag to be applied thereto to receive the material as it is sucked from the hoods 99. The fan shaft 105 is shown as driven by a bevel pinion 106 Which meshes with the bevel gear Wheel 11 hereinabove described on the vertical transmission shaft 12. 107 designates a tool box provided with a hinged cover 108 at the front of the machine. 109 represents a supporting bar for the Velectric conductors 8, said. supporting bar 109 being detachably mounted in socket pieces 110 fastened to the steering post supporting frame 47.

From the foregoing description it Will novv be seen that the door surfacing machine is propelled by means of a motor carried thereby and driving the traction vWheels thereof. The truck may be moved either forwardly or backwardly, the direction of movement thereof being readily controlled by the reversing mechanism described. The main body of the truck may be raised and lowered With respect to the traction and steering wheels so as to bring any desired load to bear on the positively driven floor surfacing rolls. The steering of the machine' is controlled by the operator standing o n the platform who also has the raising and lowering lever and the clutch lever at hand. As often as may be necessary, the surfacingfrolls may be raised out of contact with the ioor and new sheets of abrading or polishing material may be placed on the rolls in lieu of the Worn lout sheets, this be lceptacle preferably in the form of a bag or sack attached to the nozzle of the suction fan.

What l claim is y L ln a floor surfacing machine, the com* liination of a truck frame, a platform thereon, a motor mounted on said truck, traction wheels supporting said truck and driven by said motor, steering Wheels also supporting said truck, manually controlled steering mechanism, and means operable from above said platform for raising and lowering the truck relatively to the truck supporting Wheels, usaid means comprising pairs of opposit/ely arranged vertically movable slides having rack faces, sector gears meshing with said rack faces, a hand lever, and connections between said sector gears and hand lever.

2. In a Hoor surfacing machine, the combination of a truck frame, a platform thereon, a motor mounted on said truck, traction wheels supporting said truck and driven by said motor, steering wheels also supporting said truck, manually controlled steering mechanism, and means operable from above said platform for raising and lowering the eggs '1,112,253 

